From the February 25, 2018 "Rally for Macedonia" in Melbourne, Australia

Marcus A. Templar National Security Advisor,
Macedonian League

The FYROM diaspora had developed the notion, “what kind of Macedonians are we if we cannot claim ancestry to the Macedonians of Alexander the Great?”

-- Marcus A. Templar

​Speech by the Macedonian League's National Security Advisor, Marcus A. Templar, read out by Chris Moutzikis, Director of Pan-Macedonian Melbourne:

To begin I would like to read out a message from Professor Marcus Templar that provides a very brief synopsis on the FYROM Name issue.

Professor Marcus A. Templar is:

a former U.S. Army Cryptologic Linguist,

Certified U.S. Army Instructor of Intelligence Courses,

Certified Foreign Disclosures Officer,

Certified-All-Source Intelligence Analyst.

He is the Macedonian League's National Security Advisor and,

one of the world’s foremost experts on the subject, and

an authority on geopolitical analysis and recent history of the Balkan region.

My dear Australian friends,

The issue of the final name of the FYROM is not a matter of ancient history. History is in the past, and it is indisputable. It is a matter of national security for Greece as well as stability, territorial integrity and peace for the Balkan region. Allow me to provide you a very brief synopsis of the FYROM name issue:

The failure of Russian diplomacy to establish a dominant satellite state in the southern Balkans at the Council of Berlin, transformed into the impetus to do so after the complete control of the communist forces that established the Soviet Union in October 1917. The new Russian-led government realized that to spread the communist ideology and encroach as many lands as possible for the benefit of the Soviet Union; the state had to continue the foreign policies of Imperial Russia. Such a foreign policy meant for the south Balkans that, the national interests of Bulgaria were identical with national interests of the Soviet Union.

In 1919, the Central Committee of the Soviet Union created a body that would be tasked with the spreading of the communist ideology worldwide through a series of indoctrination.

Krste Petkov Misirkov, a Bulgarian socialist, published a book in Sofia, Bulgaria, titled On Macedonian Matters in 1903. That book either was edited or even revised between August 1914 and the end of 1923. In this book, Misirkov referred to the Slav population of the region of Macedonia as Macedonian Slavs or sometimes “Macedonians” explaining on page 159 that the term was regional, not ethnic. It is the same name that Greeks who live in Macedonia have been using for centuries and still use today. There is NO Macedonian ethnicity; it never was. Ethnically, ancient Macedonians were Greeks as are over 4M Macedonians currently residing in the Greek province of Macedonia and throughout the world. But let’s keep focus on the present.

During the Fifth World Congress in mid 1924, the communists Comintern issued a lengthy resolution titled “Resolution on National Question in Central Europe and Balkans”. The resolution declared the establishment of the “Balkan Federation” to be created in the region of Macedonia from territories of Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Greece. The communist so called “liberation” of Macedonia from the clutches of the capitalist West would be achieved by vigorous “support of the national revolutionary movements of loyal communist forces who would terrorise and agitate for the formation of independent republics”, which then would unite into one communist state. The people of the region of Macedonia were all inhabitants of those lands regardless of their ethnic background or religion.

Moving forward to The 11 January 1934 A Resolution was drafted in Moscow under the title “The Macedonian Question and the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - United”. Its purpose was the reinforcement of the previous resolution (1924). While section I recognized the so called “Macedonian” nation not as a community of descent, or ethnicity if you like, but as a political entity or a state, to use the words of the communists Comintern. In section II of the resolution, the communists Comintern appointed the government of the state to a Slavic Organisation transforming into a nation-state. As for the people in the region of Macedonia, according to the Communists were, again, all inhabitants of those lands regardless of their ethnic background or religion. Section II of the resolution referred to the governance and indoctrination (or brainwashing) of the people mentioned above.

It is remarkable that not one of the above documents referred to a “Macedonian people” as a community of descent, i.e., a nation in an ethnic sense. On the contrary, the main goal was the appropriation of lands which would be ceased by the communists and indoctrinated later by the Slavs.

At first the communists of Skopje attempted to connect themselves to the ancient Macedonians, but they were turned down by the Yugoslav communists as their claim was “deceptive.” Simultaneously, Yugoslav communists were adamant, “We cannot recognize you as a national distinction” i.e an ethnicity.

In fact, there is no explicit recognition by any legal authority in the Marxist Yugoslavia of an ethnic group called “Macedonian”. For Yugoslavia, the Macedonian ethnicity developed in the same manner that the Montenegrin ethnicity did, implicitly.

It is in this spirit which Kiro Gligorov, the first FYROM President, addressed your (Australian) FYROM diaspora, making it clear to them, who refused to accept the facts with respect to their Slavic ancestry. According to Historian Eugene Borza, “Modern Slavs, cannot establish a link with antiquity, as the Slavs entered the Balkans centuries after the demise of the ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedonia… Only the most radical Slavic factions – (mostly from the comfort of affluent) United States, Canada, and Australia – even attempt to establish a connection to antiquity[…] Politics in the Balkans transcends historical and biological truths” said Borza

The Marxist government of Yugoslavia let the so called “Macedonian” ethnicity develop only to use it as a tool for further expansion. Such a seemingly preposterous ethnogenesis could establish a birthright of Slav people over the land of Greek Macedonia with the port of Thessaloniki as its prize. Thus, the concept of Pseudomacedonism was developed.

The FYROM diaspora had developed the notion, “what kind of Macedonians are we if we cannot claim ancestry to the Macedonians of Alexander the Great?” Under monetary, non-monetary influence, and political extortion of its diaspora, politicians of the FYROM at first entertained the thought of their “blood relationship” to the ancient Macedonians. However, as the time passed, this pure wishful thinking developed to a staunch belief and beefed up by distortion, twisting and manipulation of historical facts turned into irredentism or rather expansionism. Since the independence of the FYROM, Greece has confronted and endured aggressive predisposition to include but not limited to:

demographic manipulations,

forgeries of history, and

relentless disinformation,

especially from the FYROM ultra-nationalistic diaspora.

If one desires regional stability and peace in the Balkans, one must help eradicate the source of the evil; stop assisting the verbal and tangible provocation of the FYROM diaspora in the world.

Sincerely Yours,
Marcus A Templar.

For a more academic account of this and other insightful articles and information from Professor Templar, please visit macedonianleague.org.

Chris Moutzikis continues with his own speech...

So, ladies and gentlemen we see from Professor Templar’s synopsis on this issue that the legacy of cold war politics is the emergence of pseudmacedonism and that has created a very volatile situation in the Balkan region, putting its people on a course of conflict.

A recent survey conducted in Skopje (capital of the FYROM) by the Institute for Democracy “Societas Civilis” showed that 61% of the multi-national residents of the republic accept the change of the republic’s name, of these 44% accept a new name that does not include the Greek name of “Macedonia”.

While in recent times pseudomacedonism was heavily propagated by the previous corrupt and ultra-nationalist Gruevski government, the people of FYROM have finally elected a government, whose leadership are showing signs of progression and willingness to repair their country. They appear to be dismantling the pseudomacedonian policy the previous government so vigorously applied spending billions of Euros on a project that transformed Skopje’s city centre into a kitsch, Disney land type of ancient Greek park. All the while inflation was rampant, unemployment soaring, and the state being rejected from joining global institutions that would guarantee their security and put them on the road to prosperity.

In the bid to transform public opinion, many of its leaders and influential personalities have acted responsibly and followed the example of their first President Gligorov and former Prime Minister Ljupko Georgievski in distancing themselves from pseudomacedonism.

FYROM is desperate to enter NATO and the EU and Greece is ready to support their euroatlantic aspirations once they drop pseudomacedonism and their expansionist propaganda.

Unfortunately, we are not immune to the conflict in this wonderful and peaceful country of ours -Australia and particularly in the world’s Most Liveable City-Melbourne.

The growing sentiment against pseudomacedonism in FYROM has not reached their diaspora, who in the comfort of their well-functioning state, stable employment and economic prosperity, prefer to support proponents of pseudomacedonism. Despite their Slavic heritage, which they should be very proud of, they prefer to parade around as descendants of Alexander the Great and other ancient Greek historical figures. Unfortunately, here in Australia, such supporters are more militant and would not hesitate in provoking anyone that challenges pseudomacedonism even to the point of intimidating and threatening violence. Regrettably this behaviour has raised its ugly head In Melbourne last Sunday morning when some FYROM Ultra-nationalists pasted racist and very offensive posters at a Greek Orthodox Church. The posters proclaim their expansionist agenda at the expense of Greek, Albanian and Bulgarian territory while using images of the star of Vergina (a Greek national symbol) and Alexander the Great. Another had an image that desecrates the Greek flag with some very racist and derogatory terms that captioned the image. This behaviour is reminiscent of the 90’s where tensions grew so high between our communities that it lead to violence and fire-bombing of churches and other community property. The windows of the Pan-Macedonian Hellenic Centre in North Fitzroy, still display the bullet marks. As recently as yesterday this building was once again vandalised by ultra-nationalist thugs. We are confident that our outstanding police force is on top of this dangerous situation and will prevent matters from escalating.

We have had enough of this rubbish and remind the Greek Government that they have no right to negotiate the use of our Hellenic name and offer future ultra-nationalist governments of FYROM the opportunity to reintroduce Pseudomacedonism.

We declare here today that:

We call upon our Australian compatriots to support its Greek-Australian community’s rightful stance against those negotiating the use of the Hellenic name of “Macedonia” to be part of a composite name of the FYROM.

We let the mainstream Australian media know that we are deeply disturbed and offended by their unjustified persistence in referring to FYROM as “Macedonia” in contrast to UN resolutions and our federal government's policy.

We have had enough of being discriminated against by media and many quasi government organisations that refer to FYROM as simply “Macedonia” and the Slavs of FYROM as “Macedonians” We respect the right to self-determination but others right to self-determination does not mean that our rights should be infringed upon.

To raise community awareness of the inherent injustice flowing from Australia's FYROM community who usurp Greek history and aspire to expand into Greek territory.

We want to co-exist and live in peace in this wonderful multicultural society of ours without constant provocation and threats from ultra-nationalist thugs.

To call for the recognition of human rights of indigenous Macedonian ethnic Greeks living in the state of FYROM.